Mandatory face masks should be considered amid unprecedented flu surge

Due to the ongoing flu outbreak, NHS health and care settings may wish to consider making masks mandatory, the health secretary has suggested.

However, giving evidence to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee on a range of topical questions this morning, Wes Streeting said there were no plans currently for a central directive to make face masks mandatory in NHS settings or by the wider public.

Mr Streeting was asked whether the time has come for mandatory mask wearing to protect patients, especially in light of not all healthcare professionals having had their flu jab.

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The flu vaccine appears to be providing ‘strong’ protection against severe illness despite the emergence of a mutated strain behind the early spread of the virus this season, the UKHSA has said.

Mr Streeting told MPs on the committee: ‘No the time has not yet come for everyone to wear masks. But what we are absolutely supporting frontline leaders to do is to determine whether, given the pressures they are under, whether it is the right thing to do to ask visitors to hospitals or other NHS or care settings to wear masks to protect themselves and others.

‘There will be places where that’s happening; it will be done in an informed way on the basis of the conditions they are operating under, and most people will happily comply with that. But at this stage there’s no need to kind of mandate mask wearing or to ask everyone around the country to do the same.’

The evidence session saw the health secretary answer questions alongside NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey on a wide range of questions, with Mr Mackey suggesting that the flu outbreak may be settling in some areas.

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He said: ‘You’ll have seen all the stuff in recent weeks about flu and the pressures – we’ve actually had our first contact with winter in a pretty nasty way over the last month. So two weeks ago I really worried about what I was doing with flu accelerating and the pressure in certain systems.

‘That looks like it may be starting to settle – it’s early days but it might be starting to settle in some parts of the country.’

It comes as the pre-Christmas five-day strike by resident doctors in England began this morning, with Mr Mackey and Mr Streeting having strongly criticised the timing amid respiratory winter pressures on the health service.

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Meanwhile, NHS England has reassured pharmacy contractors that flu vaccine stocks remain available. 

A version of this story was first published on sister title Pulse.